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Mumbai, November 20’ 2023
Mobicule, a pioneer and leading player in debt collection recently launched industry first phygital collection platform, mCollect. In an interaction with PTI, Siddharth Agarwal, Founder and Managing Director, Mobicule Technologies spoke about disrupting the loan recovery space and bridging the gap as well as how phygital debt collection platforms will address traditional loan recovery challenges.
The debt collection landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, thanks to technology, innovation giving rise to “phygital” debt collection platforms. These innovative systems seamlessly combine physical and digital approaches to address the shortcomings of traditional loan recovery methods. The phygital debt collection platforms are now effectively tackling the challenges that have long plagued traditional debt collection techniques said Siddharth Agarwal of Mobicule. The main challenge has been poor communication and engagement. Traditional loan recovery methods often struggled with poor communication and engagement between creditors and borrowers. Phone calls and letters, though common, could be intrusive and intimidating, leading to borrower resistance. Hence the phygital solution has focused on enhanced communication. Siddharth highlighted that mCollect, the phygital debt collection platform of Mobicule, utilises digital channels like email, SMS, and whats app to reach out to borrowers in a more personalised and non-intrusive manner. Instead of intimating callers, voice-bot is being used with an in-built personalisation. This tailored approach fosters better borrower engagement, as messages can be designed to match individual preferences, ultimately leading to more positive interactions. Siddharth said, “Limited data-driven decision making has been a big concern of the industry. Traditional debt collection frequently relied on manual and subjective decision-making processes, resulting in inefficiencies and suboptimal outcomes. Lack of access to real-time data hindered the ability to make informed decisions. Data-driven approach is the next big phygital solution. Phygital platforms can leverage advanced data analytics to assess the borrower’s financial situation, payment history, and behavioural patterns based on digital engagement with customers. This data-driven approach allows for customised debt recovery strategies, increasing the likelihood of successful loan recovery while ensuring that the process is fair and accommodating to the borrower’s circumstances.” Banks and NBFCs are struggling with high operational costs often incurred by traditional debt collection methods due to the need for extensive staff and resources. Manual tasks, such as phone calls and letter mailings followed by personal visit by collection agent, add to these expenses. Mobicule’s phygital solution offers cost efficiency. mCollect automates routine tasks and data processing, reducing the need for a large team of tele-calling and collection agents. Additionally, digital communication channels significantly lower expenses associated with traditional methods, such as postage and phone call charges. The result is a more cost-efficient debt recovery process, benefiting both creditors and borrowers in the form of potentially lower fees and interest rates.
Siddharth reiterated that “Our Phygital Debt Resolution Service aims to redefine debt collection and recovery by combining technology with personalised customer engagement. We intend to improve recovery rates and reduce operational costs for financial institutions.”
Traditional debt collection has created somewhat negative customer experience in the past, leading to damaged relationships between borrowers and creditors. This has resulted in a loss of trust and future business. The need of the hour is to use the phygital solution to prioritise providing borrowers with a positive and empathetic experience thereby enhancing the overall relationship. The combination of physical and digital interactions allows for face-to-face meetings when necessary, fostering goodwill and facilitating negotiations on repayment terms. Borrowers appreciate the more personalised and less intrusive approach, leading to higher satisfaction and a greater likelihood of maintaining a long-term relationship with the lender. Siddharth talked about inefficient processes of the traditional debt collection methods may delay loan recovery and a higher risk of defaulted loans. It’s necessary to streamline the processes and adopt digital transformation. Automation in debt recovery is the next big thing. The combination of digital communication and data analytics accelerates the process, improving efficiency and reducing the chances of defaulted loans. According to Siddharh, “Often, banks and NBFCs assign cases to digital collections, and unresolved cases are then transferred to call centres for resolution. Often, both channels are used simultaneously or under utilised, resulting in inefficiency and increased costs. Mobicule has introduced an integrated debt resolution service that seamlessly combines a multi-lingual / multi-city 100 plus seater call centre operations with digital outreach, creating a true omni-channel solution that leverages technology, data science, strategy, and a physical call centre viz SMS, Email, WhatsApp, IVR, Voice Bot, Outbound, and Inbound call centre services. Our goal is to optimise the synergy between digital and human call centre capabilities, utilising real-time customer interactions and behaviour on the platform. Our debt collection platform caters to all stages of delinquency pre, early, mid and late. We have designed our platform to especially cater and manage to recovery cycles of settlement, asset repossession and legal workflow management. Here comes our next differentiator where we are offering an integrated platform with legal services to manage your legal process backed by lawyers catering to specific areas of expertise and locations.”
Siddharth concluded, “Phygital debt collection platforms will emerge as a game-changer in the world of loan recovery. They address the challenges of traditional methods by improving communication, implementing data-driven decision-making, reducing operational costs, enhancing the customer experience, and streamlining the overall process. These platforms offer a win-win solution for both creditors and borrowers, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds to create a more efficient, cost-effective, and customer-centric approach to debt collection. As the financial industry continues to evolve, the adoption of phygital debt collection methods is poised to become the new standard in loan recovery.”
